Bottom Line:

Recycling is one of the most widespread and available mechanisms for people to practice collective sustainability. Reducing unnecessary consumption of resources is better than reusing or recycling those goods. When you do consume new goods, it reinforces the recycling loop if you purchase products that are made sustainably (FSC certified wood for example), made from recycled materials, and/or are recyclable themselves. Recycling glass, plastic, metal, and paper continues to be a smart move for the environment. However, even among these categories, not all of these recyclable items are made the same way and some require special handling. Discovering ways for clothing, electronics, and other reusable items to avoid landfills is also a sustainable practice.

Discussion and Recommendations:

The following recommendations should help your household integrate R3 (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) methods:

• Put your recyclables in a location you can access during a weekly chore. Most people prefer that this location be convenient, concealing, and substantial enough to sort and hold a week's worth of recyclables. In most cases, if you sort your recyclables, you reduce the financial and energy costs of separation downstream.
   
• Keep a storage place for seasonal or bulky items that need to be transferred on a less frequent basis. A container with labeled compartments that can house these items for 1-3 months is a good rule of thumb. In this way you will be able to batch and reduce the number of trips to donation, refund, or transfer centers.
   
• Recyclables such as glass and metal should be clear of debris and food particles, but they do not need to be sterile. For example, if you are trying to clean out a mustard or salad dressing container, fill it up a third of the way with hot water, shake it vigorously and pour out the waste water. No need to use soap and water or sterilize these containers. They will go through a similar process before they are reused.
   
• Categories of recycling: There are 7 types of plastics, at least three types of glass, and four different types of paper most households come into contact with (Town of Redding (2008) "Sorting and processing recyclables for drop-off").
   
• Plastics: Become familiar with what these are and how your recycling service or center would like you to package or separate them. Some recycling collection processes are single stream (one container for all recyclables) and some are sorted stream (compartmentalized recycling). Most plastics have a recycling symbol on the bottom with a number inside indicating whether it is a: 1. Polyethylene Terephthelate (PETE) – soda bottles etc. with a redemption value in certain states; 2. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) – detergent bottles and milk jugs; 3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) – salad dressing and water bottles; 4. Low Density Polyethlene (LDPE) – dry cleaning and produce bags; 5. Polypropythene (PP) – bottle caps and drinking straws; 6. Polystyrene (PS) – Styrofoam peanuts, plastic tableware; and 7. Other.
   
• Glass: Glass is normally separated by color. 1. Clear glass (pickle jar); 2. Green glass (red wine bottle); 3. Brown glass (bottle of Guinness). It is important to note that mirrors, drinking glasses, Pyrex, and light bulbs are not recyclable. Compact fluorescent light bulbs require special handling because of the mercury content.
   
• Paper: Paper is separated into four different categories. 1. Old Corrugated Containers (OCC) – cardboard packaging, usually brown, that has a "wavy" line of paper running in-between two parallel sheets; 2. Mixed paper such as mail, magazines, and telephone books; 3. Old Newspapers (ON) – no description needed; 4. High Grade Deinked Paper – high grade paper such as letterhead and copier paper (http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/paper/basics/grade.htm). Many would likely suspect that paper, being an organic byproduct would naturally degrade rather quickly in landfills. However, because many landfills do not offer exposure to air and sunlight, there have been cases where newspapers thirty years old have been found still readable in a landfill.